PENANG,  2 Sept 2009

Plagued by adverse weather for three consecutive years, the Penang Turf Club (PNTC) has decided to run the RM1 Astro Wah Lai Toi Sprint Trophy, traditionally held in late August or early September, in July next year.

The Malaysia Magic Millions Classic, which offered RM1 in prizemoney for the first time this year, will be moved to December to be run together with the Gold Cup.

The second weekend of the Sprint Trophy was cancelled in 2007 and 2008 because of heavy rain which rendered the track unsafe for racing.

In a one-off move, PNTC decided to re-schedule the 2008 race to December which was won by CHEYENNE DANCER, without the participation of Singapore horses.

Rain again played havoc to the schedule in the 2009 Sprint Trophy meeting just concluded.

The second day of the meeting on Aug 23 was called off after just one race had been run, affecting nine races.

Last weekend, PNTC had to cancel the last six of ten races on Saturday but managed to stage all ten races on Sunday, including the Sprint Trophy and the Malaysia 2009 Magic Millions Classic.

However, all races turned out to be less than competitive because of the heavy going, as many horses could not quite handle the track condition, with big margins being registered by many winners.

Hopefully, the change in date for the Sprint Trophy from next year will end the nightmare for PNTC.